Beebe says he hopes lifting state's 'swagger' is his legacyLITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe successfully pushed for nearly eliminating the state's tax on groceries over the past eight years, helped convince a Republican-led Legislature to embrace a key part of the president's health care law and enjoys an approval rating that's barely dipped below 70 percent since he took office in 2007. But the two-term Democrat admits that the legacy he hopes to leave after more than three decades i...

Official says water supplier's funds running dryLITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - The chairman of a water supplier that serves four rural northwest Arkansas counties says it's running a deficit each month. He says that the Ozark Mountain Regional Public Water Authority likely will begin relying on credit to make up the difference by the end of January. The water authority spends an average of about $147,700 per month. It's nearly $27,000 more than it receives in income. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette...

Illinois teacher donating steamboat model to Arkansas groupLITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - An Illinois teacher who spent two years creating a replica of an 1865 steamboat is donating the 14-foot model to a historical group in eastern Arkansas. Gene Salecker of River Grove, Illinois, built the model of the Sultana steamboat, which exploded in April 1865 as it traveled up the Mississippi River near Marion. Salecker's model includes small deck chairs, a stove in the pilot house and a miniature alligator the boa...

State takeover of Little Rock schools urgedLITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - A Little Rock School Board member says the school board is "dysfunctional" and a former member has called for the state to take over the district. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports (http://bit.ly/1tJQhA6 ) that board member Leslie Fisken said in a letter to state Education Board member Vicki Saviers that the board is "dysfunctional ... rude, inconsiderate, patronizing, and insulting" toward Superintendent Dexter Su...

Gentry man dies after sport utility vehicle overturnsGENTRY, Ark. (AP) - Arkansas State Police say a Gentry man has died of injuries he suffered when the sport utility vehicle he was driving overturned. A state police report says 26-year-old Bradlee Shrum died at Washington Regional Medical Center where he was taken following the crash. The report says Shrum was northbound on State Highway 59 south of Gentry when the SUV went off the road in a curve and overturned.

Corporate tax take boosts Arkansas' revenue in DecemberLITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - A boost in corporate tax collections last month helped push Arkansas' revenue $44.1 million higher than predicted for the first half of the fiscal year, the state Department of Finance and Administration said Monday. The department said December's net available revenue totaled $482.8 million, which is $10.7 million above December 2013 and $19.3 million more than forecast. The state's revenue so far for the fiscal year,...

Hutchinson names Kelley as new Arkansas prisons chiefLITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - Incoming Gov. Asa Hutchinson on Monday promoted the Arkansas Department of Correction's chief deputy director to head the agency that operates the state's prison system. Hutchinson, a Republican who will be sworn in on Jan. 13, named Wendy Kelley as the department's new director. Kelley will replace interim Director Larry Norris. "Her leadership capabilities, in addition to the experience and knowledge she possesses ha...

Woman wanted on Arkansas drug charges arrested in CaliforniaMOUNTAIN HOME, Ark. (AP) - A Mountain Home woman who disappeared nearly two years ago after being arrested on drug charges in Arkansas has been found and arrested in California. The Baxter Bulletin reports (http://bit.ly/1BrnjWv ) that 21-year-old Monique Blanc was arrested in Sacramento and is being held pending extradition back to Baxter County. Authorities had initially reported Blanc's age as 31. Blanc disappeared after being released on b...

Huckabee leaving Fox News show ahead of decision WASHINGTON (AP) — TV host and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee says he is leaving his Fox News talk show as he considers whether to seek the Republican nomination for president, a decision he expects to reach in the spring. Huckabee told the network that Saturday night's edition of "Huckabee" would be his last as he ponders his political future, Fox News reported. The weekly show, which is taped with a live audience and features political co...

Dispute between father, son turns deadly PINE BLUFF (AP) — Authorities in Jefferson County say a dispute between a father and son has resulted in the county's first homicide of 2015. Sheriff's office officials say deputies responded to a 911 call on Friday about a report of a domestic disturbance in White Hall between the father, 73-year-old Claude Oakley, and his son, 48-year-old Claude Bryan Oakley. The sheriff's office says investigators arrested Claude Oakley for the death of his...

Flash flood watch issued for southern Arkansas LITTLE ROCK (AP) — The National Weather Service has issued a flash flood watch for portions of southern Arkansas. Forecasters say areas of showers and embedded thunderstorms, some containing locally heavy rainfall, continue to spread east across southern Arkansas. Up to 2 inches of additional rainfall could fall over the area through Saturday afternoon. The region has already recorded 3 to almost 5 inches of rain in the last week, and addition...

Poet Miller Williams dies in Arkansas LITTLE ROCK (AP) — Arkansas poet Miller Williams, a prolific writer and teacher who read a poem at President Bill Clinton's 1997 inauguration, has died. He was 84. Williams, the father of singer-songwriter Lucinda Williams, died Thursday night at a hospital in Fayetteville of complications from Alzheimer's disease, family friend Linda Sheets said Friday. Williams was a longtime professor at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. He helped...

Mayflower-Vilonia tornado is top AP story of 2014 LITTLE ROCK (AP) — Arkansas' worst natural disaster of 2014 has been selected by Associated Press members as the state's top news story of the year, edging out the Republican dominance in the midterm elections and court decisions that opened the door to marriages between same-sex couples. Balloting among AP-member broadcasters and newspaper editors left the Mayflower-Vilonia tornado, the GOP sweep and gay marriage-related court decisions clust...

Billboard advertises Ku Klux Klan radio station HARRISON (AP) — A new billboard in Harrison that advertises the web-based "whiteprideradio.com" has been rented by the Knights Party of Zinc, formerly the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, and comes just a year after another billboard carrying a racist message was taken down. "Yes, that's us," Thom Robb, national director of the Knights Party, told the Harrison Daily Times (http://bit.ly/1x3MWeS ), saying that the group is leasing the billboard for...

Johnson County road to be closed for railroad work CLARKSVILLE (AP) — The Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department says a state highway in west-central Arkansas will be closed because of repairs to a railroad crossing. The AHTD says Highway 109 between Clarksville and Morrison Bluff in Johnson County will be closed Sunday from 7 a.m. until 5 p.m., weather permitting. The closure is to allow Union Pacific Railroad to make repairs to the railroad crossing. Signs will direct traffic to a de...

Fort Smith to spend $200 million on sewer system FORT SMITH (AP) — Federal and state officials say the city of Fort Smith will spend more than $200 million over the next 12 years on upgrades to its sewer collection and treatment system to reduce discharges of raw sewage and other pollutants into local waterways, including the Arkansas River. Under a settlement filed Friday in U.S. District Court, Fort Smith will also pay a $300,000 civil penalty and spend $400,000 on a program to help qualif...

Bald Knob fires police chief on mayor's 1st day BALD KNOB (AP) — The police chief in Bald Knob has been fired during a City Council meeting called by the town's new mayor on her first day in office. The council voted 4-3 Wednesday with Mayor Beth Hale Calhoun casting the tie-breaking vote to fire Police Chief Tim Sanford after calling the special meeting to vote on firing him. Calhoun said more than 750 people asked her to make the change while she was campaigning for mayor. She declined fu...

Arkansas approved for changes to 'private option' The federal government on Wednesday approved Arkansas' request for changes to the state's compromise Medicaid expansion that will require recipients to make monthly co-payments to health savings accounts and put limits on transportation for routine doctor visits and other non-emergency services. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said in a letter to Arkansas Department of Human Services Director John Selig that it has approved the ...

Man shot, killed during alleged home intrusion JACKSONVILLE (AP) — A Pulaski county man says he shot and killed a man who had broken into his home. Pulaski County Sheriff's Lt. Carl Minden told reporters that deputies found Garrett Cowsert, 25, of Sherwood dead early Tuesday outside the home between Jacksonville and Cabot. Deputies found Zachary Blalock, 21, inside the home and say that Blalock told them Cowsert broke into the home and that he shot him. Minden says the case will be turned ...